Saw blades and machines for servicing them

ABSTRACT

The teeth of a saw blade and particularly of a band saw blade are transversely set so that, for each such set tooth a portion of the tooth bounded by its leading edge and by an outwardly extending line of set is disposed transversely to the remainder of the tooth. The line of set extends edgewise outwardly from the leading edge of the tooth along a line generally parallel to the leading edge. A machine for performing a servicing operation such as tooth-sharpening and/or tooth-setting comprises a clamping device for periodically clamping and releasing the saw blade and a sharpening and/or tooth-setting device for operating on the teeth of the blade while it is clamped. A blade advance mechanism includes a toothed plate which engages several teeth of the blade and reciprocates longitudinally to advance the blade through the machine when the clamp is released. The sharpening wheel and the tooth-setting device are usefully adjustable to permit variation of the sharpening angle, of the depth of set, of the transverse extent of setting, of the angle between the line of set and the longitudinal direction of the blade and of the setting sequence along the blade.

United States Patent [151 3,661,037 Athanasoulas 1 May 9, 1972 [54] SAWBLADES AND MACHINES FOR SERVICING THEM [72] Inventor: Evangelos G.Athanasoulas, 20 Alexandrow Zarra Street, Arta, Greece [22] Filed: Nov.26, 1969 [21] Appl. No.: 880,343

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 28, 1968 Greece ..36114 [52]U.S. Cl ..76/58, 76/35, 76/43 [51] Int. Cl ..B23d 63/04 [58] FieldofSearch ..76/40,41,37,43,71,58,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,318,659 10/1919 Garrison..76/71 X 1,490,668 4/1924 Herbert ...76/37 2,245,984 6/1941 Knowles...76/35 2,498,167 2/1950 Lorenz.... ...76/5 3.308.688 3/1967 Stier.......76/43 Primary Examiner-Hemard Stickney Attorney-W. Britton Moore57 ABSTRACT The teeth of a saw blade and particularly of a band sawblade are transversely set so that, for each such set tooth a portion ofthe tooth bounded by its leading edge and by an outwardly extending lineof set is disposed transversely to the remainder of the tooth. The lineof set extends edgewise outwardly from the leading edge of the toothalong a line generally parallel to the leading edge. A machine forperforming a servicing operation such as tooth-sharpening and/ortooth-setting comprises a clamping device for periodically clamping andreleasing the saw blade and a sharpening and/or tooth-setting device foroperating on the teeth of the blade while it is clamped. A blade advancemechanism includes a toothed plate which engages several teeth of theblade and reciprocates longitudinally to advance the blade through themachine when the clamp is released. The sharpening wheel and thetooth-setting device are usefully adjustable to permit variation of thesharpening angle, of the depth of set, of the transverse extent ofsetting, of the angle between the line of set and the longitudinaldirection of the blade and of the setting sequence along the blade.

24 Claims, 33 Drawing Figures PATENTEDMAY 9 1972 sum 01 or 15 FIG 2 FIG3 FIG 4 FIG I FIG 6 FIG 7 FIG 8 FIG 5 FIG 10 INVENTOR. EVANGELOS G.ATHANASOULAS BY RWRQK ATTORNEY PATENTEDMAY 9 I972 SHHT 02 [1F 15 FIG 11FIG 77 INVENTOR. EMNGELOS G. ATHANASOULAS ATTORNEY PATENTEDMAY 919123,661,037

. 2:28 230 22s 7 1119 171 W 1S3 3 2 151 2 i 201 '3 A 1 1 ,5 151. I58 172173 171. 199 159 o 157 202 223 199 155 20h I 212 209 p 37 3 E 129 12712s 11s 112 m FIG 13 INVENTOR.

EVANGELOS G. ATHANASOULAS ATTORNEY PATENTEDMAY 91912 3,661,037

sum near 15 INVENTOR.

EVANGELOS G ATHANASOULAS BY Wax.

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sum 08UF15 FIG 79 INVENTOR.

EVANGELOS G. ATHANASOULAS ATTORNEY" PATENTEUHAY 9:972 9661,08?

sum 090r15 INVENTOR. EVANGELOS G. ATHANASOULAS ATTORNEY FIG 28PATENTEDMY 9:912 3,661,037

sum 10 cf 15 INVENTOR: H6 EVANGELOS a. ATHANASOULAS ATTORNEY PATENTEDMAY9 I972 SHEET 11 HF 15 INVENTOR.

EVANGELOS G. ATHANASOULAS 5F 0 P w:

Q3 :3 3 mi BY qt.

A T TORNE Y PATENTEDMAY' 9:972 3,661,037

sum 12 [1F 15 ATTORNEY PATENTEDMAY 9 1912 saw 13 or 15 mm 2k INVEN'TOR.

E VANGELOS G. ATHANASOULAS ATTORNE) PATENTEDMAY 9 H372 SHEET 15 [1F 15FIG 30 INVENTOR: E VANGELOS G. ATHANASOULAS ATTORNEY SAW BLADES ANDMACHINES FOR SERVICING THEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates to novel saw blades and to a method for setting theteeth of such blades. The invention also relates to machines forperforming servicing operations, such as tooth-setting andtooth-sharpening, on saw blades. The method and machines of the presentinvention are particularly applicable to the setting and sharpening ofband saw blades.

One important object of the present invention is to provide a saw blade,the teeth of which are set in a novel manner to provide highly effectiveperformance during a cutting operation using such a saw blade. Moreparticularly, the invention provides a saw blade which is especiallyeffective in removing saw dust from the kerf of a saw cut and whichneeds to have its teeth re-set somewhat less frequently than is the casefor conventionally set blades.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a novel methodfor setting the teeth of a saw blade which method is particularlyapplicable to the setting of the teeth of band saw blades.

A further important object of the invention is to provide a machine forperforming a servicing operation, such as toothsetting and/ortooth-sharpening, on a saw blade, which machine is characterized by itsversatility, reliability in use, high operating speed, simplicity ofconstruction, and relatively low manufacturing and operating costs.

Another object of this invention is to provide a machine of theaforementioned type which machine is readily adjustable to accommodatesaw blades of difierent sizes and having teeth of different pitchvalues.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a machine of theaforementioned type which machine can be used to set the teeth of a sawblade according to the novel method of the invention.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the ty edescribed, the operation of which is not adversely affected in the eventthat some of the teeth of the saw blade are damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In its broadest scope, a novel saw bladeaccording to the invention can be defined as comprising an elongatedspine and integrally formed with said elongated spine a plurality ofteeth extending edgewise outwardly from said spine, each said toothcomprising a leading edge and a trailing edge and said trailing edgesubtending a smaller angle than said leading edge with said spine, andin which at least some of said teeth are set transversely with respectto said elongated spine, each such transversely set tooth being setabout a line of set extending outwardly from the leading edge of thetooth to the trailing edge thereof.

The method of the invention for setting a tooth of a saw blade having anelongated spine and a plurality of teeth extending edgewise outwardlytherefrom, each such tooth having a leading edge and a trailing edge andsaid trailing edge subtending a smaller angle with said elongated spinethan said leading edge, broadly comprises transversely deforming aportion of said tooth about a line of set extending from said forwardedge of said tooth outwardly to said trailing edge thereof.

A machine in accordance with the invention for performing a servicingoperation on the teeth of a saw blade having a first edge and a secondedge defining an elongated spine with a plurality of teeth extendingedgewise outwardly from said first edge of said blade, each said toothhaving a leading edge and a trailing edge and said trailing edge of eachsaid tooth subtending a smaller angle than said leading edge thereofwith said first edge of said blade, is broadly defined as comprising aclamping means adapted periodically to be moved between a blade-clampingfirst position and a blade-releasing second position, a blade-advancemeans adapted periodically to be moved between a tooth-engaging firstposition and a bladereleasing second position and additionally adaptedperiodically to reciprocate longitudinally in engagement with aplurality of said teeth of said blade in a forward direction and forreturn movement out of engagement with said blade in an oppositelongitudinal direction, at least one blade-servicing means adaptedperiodically to reciprocate between a bladeengaging first position forperforming a servicing operation on at least one tooth of said blade anda retracted blade-releasing second position, and control and drive meansadapted to drive said clamping means, said blade-advance means and saidblade-servicing means in operational synchronization whereby saidblade-advance means undergoes conjoint forward movement with said bladewhile said clamping means and said blade-servicing means .are disposedin their blade-releasing second positions and in which said blade isengaged in a clamped position by said blade-clamping means during saidblade-servicing operation.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the description herein proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be describedmerely by way of illustration with reference to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevation of a band saw blade as alreadyknown;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section through the blade of FIG. 1 when takenalong line 2-2 of that figure;

FIG. 3 is a similar section to that of FIG. 2 but taken along the line3-3 ofFlG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a similar section to those of FIGS. 2 and 3 but taken alongthe line 4--4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevation of a useful embodiment of a sawblade in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a transverse section through the blade of FIG. 5 when takenalong the line 66 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a similar section to that of FIG. 6 but taken along the line7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a similar section to those of FIGS. 6 and 7 but taken alongthe line 8-8 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of the blade shownin FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary front elevation of the blade of FIG. 9 showingin greater detail the manner in which in accordance with the presentinvention an individual tooth of the saw blade is preferably set;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the general construction andoperation of a machine in accordance with the invention for sharpeningand/or setting the teeth of a band saw blade;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary front elevation of a particularly usefulembodiment of a machine in accordance with the invention for sharpeningand/or setting the teeth of a saw blade;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary perspective view from the rear of the machineof FIG. 12 showing the main supporting frame and part of the drivetransmission of that machine;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary, front perspective view of the machine of FIG.12 showing further details of the main supporting frame with its maindriving shaft mounted thereon;

FIG. 15 is a side elevation partly in section taken in the direction ofthe arrows 1515 of FIG. 13 showing further details of the drivetransmission system of the machine;

FIG. 16 is an enlarged elevation of a particularly useful form ofscrew-adjusting device used in the machine of FIG. 12;

FIG. 17 is a horizontal sectional view through the screw-adjustingdevice shown in FIG. 16 when taken along the line 17--17 ofthat figure;

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary front perspective view of the machine of FIG.12 showing in greater detail and partly exploded the blade edge-clampingmechanism provided for holding down the saw blade during the sharpeningof its teeth and the advance mechanism provided for advancing the sawblade through the machine between consecutive operating steps;

FIG. 19 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along the line19-19 of FIG. 18 showing further details of the blade edge-clampingmechanism provided for holding down the saw blade;

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along the line20-20 of FIG. 18 showing further details of the blade advance mechanismprovided for engaging and advancing the saw blade through the machinebetween consecutive operatrons;

FIG. 21 is an enlarged, fragmentary perspective view of the bladeadvance transmission provided in the machine of FIG. 12 for transmittingdrive motion to the blade-advance mechanism shown in FIGS. 18 and 20;

FIG. 22 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along the line22-22 of FIG. 21 showing the attachment to the mechanism of FIG. 21 of acable which is provided for transmitting drive movement to theblade-advance mechanism;

FIG. 23 is a fragmentary, front perspective view of the machine of FIG.12 showing in greater detail the transverse blade-clamping mechanism,the front clamping plate being pivoted forwardly to reveal the supportprovided for maintaining the saw blade at a desired height;

FIG. 24 is an enlarged, fragmentary front perspective view showing ingreater detail the blade support illustrated in FIG.

FIG. 25 is a fragmentary, front perspective view showing further detailsof the sharpening wheel mounting and drive sub-assembly provided forsupporting the sharpening wheel and for obtaining the necessary verticalreciprocation and adjustment of the position of the sharpening wheel inthe machine of FIG. 12;

FIG. 26 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along the line26-26 of FIG. 25 showing further details of the mechanism provided forsupporting the sharpening wheel and for adjusting its position;

FIG. 27 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section of thesharpening wheel mounting and drive subassembly of FIG. 25 when viewedin the direction of the arrows 27-27 of that figure;

FIG. 28 is a fragmentary front elevation of the sharpening wheelmounting and drive sub-assembly when viewed in the direction of thearrows 28-28 of FIG. 27;

FIGv 29 is a side elevation partly in section of the mechanism providedin the machine of FIG. 12 for setting the teeth of a band saw blade whenviewed in the direction of the arrows 29-29 of FIG. 12',

FIG. 30 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section of themechanism provided in the machine of FIG. 12 for transmitting drivemotion to the tooth-setting mechanism of FIG. 29 when viewed in thedirection of the arrows 30-30 of FIG. 12;

FIG. 31 is a fragmentary, horizontal sectional view through thetooth-setting mechanism of FIG. 29 when taken along the line 31-31 ofFIG. 12;

FIG. 32 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view taken along the line32-32 of FIG. 31; and

FIG. 33 is a perspective illustration of a blade-engaging plate having aparticularly useful configuration and intended for use in the bladeedge-clamping mechanism for holding down the saw blade as shown in FIGS.18 and 19.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As already indicated, thepresent invention provides novel saw blades, a method for setting theteeth of saw blades and a machine for sharpening and/or setting theteeth of such saw blades. For convenience, the following descriptionwill first be directed to the novel saw blades of the invention andsubsequently to the novel method and machine.

SAW BLADES OF THE INVENTION The saw blade generally indicated at 30 inFIGS. 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings is representative of thosealready known and will first be briefly considered. The blade 30comprises a spine 31 and has integrally formed with that spine aplurality of edgewise projecting teeth generally indicated at 32. As isconventional, some of these teeth are deformed or set transversely tothe left while others are transversely set to the right. For theparticular blade 30 illustrated, alternate teeth 34 are not set andextend directly from the spine 31 in the principal plane of that spineas shown at 39 in FIGS. 1 and 3. The setting of the intervening teeth 35is shown as being to the left in FIG. 4 while the teeth 36 are shown asbeing set to the right in FIG. 2, references to the left and right beingunderstood as applying when the blade 30 of FIG. 1 is viewed from theright-hand end of that figure.

It will now be seen that all the teeth which are set are deformed abouta line A-A which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the blade30 as indicated by the line 13-13 of FIG. 1. For example, the tipsections 40 of the teeth 35 are deformed about the line A-A to the left(FIG. 4) while the tip sections 38 of the teeth 36 are deformed aboutthe line A-A to the right (FIG. 2). The tip sections 39 of the teeth 34are non-deformed.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 5 to 10 of the accompanying drawingsin which there is illustrated a particularly useful embodiment of a sawblade in accordance with the present invention. It will be seen thatthis blade generally indicated at 44 comprises a longitudinallyextending spine portion 45 and a plurality of edgewise extending teethgenerally indicated at 46. In the particular blade 44 shown in FIGS. 5to 10, alternate teeth 48 are not set, i.e., they are disposed in thesame plane as the spine 45 as will readily be understood by reference tothe drawings.

Between the teeth of alternate pairs of adjacent unset teeth 48, theteeth 50 are deformed or set in one transverse direction as shown inFIGS. 5 and 6 while between other pairs of unset teeth 48, the teeth 49are transversely set in the opposite transverse direction as shown inFIGS. 5 and 8.

It will also be noted that, in accordance with an important feature ofthis invention, each of the teeth 49 and 50 is deformed about a line D-Dwhich is disposed angulariy with respect to the longitudinal directionof the blade 44 as indicated by the line C-C of FIGS. 5 to 8. Inparticular it will be noted that for the blade 44 shown in FIGS. 5 to10, the line of set D-D for each of the set teeth 49 and 50 extends froma leading edge of the tooth outwardly to the trailing edge of the sametooth so as to define a leading tooth portion 53 and 51 respectivelywhich has a leading edge surface disposed generally parallel to butoffset from the spine 45 of the blade 44. Furthermore, the line D-D(FIG. 10) usefully curves outwardly from the leading edge of a tooth soas to approach a parallel disposition to such leading edge on reachingthe trailing edge of the tooth as is particularly shown in FIG. 9v

Saw blades as exemplified by saw blade 44 have been found to beparticularly advantageous in use in providing considerably improvedremoval of saw-dust from the kerf of a saw cut. It should perhaps bepointed out that the saw blades of the present invention are notrestricted to ones in which the setting of the teeth is carried out inthe particular tooth-totooth sequence actually shown in FIGS. 5 to 10.The invention equally embraces saw blades in which all the teeth areset, for example, alternately to each transverse side of the blade.

A novel method and machine suitable for setting the teeth of a saw bladein the aforementioned manner will be described hereinafter in greaterdetail.

METHOD AND MACHINE OF THE INVENTION In an attempt to facilitateunderstanding of the structure and operation of a machine in accordancewith the present invention, the following description herein withreference to FIGS. 11 to 33 of the accompanying drawings will be dividedinto generally separate considerations of the following aspects andfeatures of the invention:

1. Introduction: A general description of the construction and operationof a machine in accordance with the invention with reference to theschematic illustration of FIG. 1 1.

General description of a specific machine: A general description of aparticularly useful embodiment of a machine in accordance with theinvention as shown in FIGS. 12 to 33 with more particular reference tothe identification of the various sub-assemblies making up the machineas shown in FIG. 12, which sub-assemblies will then be considered ingreater detail under separate section headings now to be identified.

. Supporting frame: as illustrated particularly in FIGS. 13

and 14.

4. Main drive power source and transmission: with particular referenceto FIGS. 13, 14, and 15.

5. Blade support and transverse clamping sub-assembly:

with particular reference to FIGS. 15, 23, and 24.

6. Blade edge-clamping sub-assembly: with particular reference to FIGS.18, 19, and 33.

7. Blade advance mechanism: with particular reference to FIGS. 18 and20.

8. Blade advance transmission: with particular reference to FIGS. 12,21, and 22.

9. Sharpening wheel mounting and drive sub-assembly: with particularreference to FIGS. 15,25, 26, 27, and 28.

I0. Tooth-setting sub-assembly: with particular reference to FIGS. 12,29, 30, 31, and 32.

l 1. Operation and adjustment of the machine. It should perhaps beexplained that the same numerals are used in all of FIGS. 12 to 33 ofthe accompanying drawings for identifying the same structural componentsand that, as the description herein proceeds, the functions of thevarious sub-assemblies of the machine of those figures will be comparedto those indicated somewhat schematically in FIG. 11. It is also to benoted that many of the figures of the accompanying drawings arefragmentary in that components not relevant to the particularsubassembly under consideration have been omitted from the figures tofacilitate understanding of the particular structures in question.

1. Introduction Referring to FIG. 11, there is shown schematicallytherein a machine for sharpening and/or setting the teeth 61 of a bandsaw blade indicated generally at 60. The tooth-setting mechanismincorporated in the machine of FIG. 11 is designed to set the teeth 61as already described with reference to FIGS. 5 to of the accompanyingdrawings.

It should be noted that the solid line arrows in FIG. 11 indicate thedirections of movement of the various component sub-assemblies duringoperation of the machine while the broken line arrows indicate thedirections of possible adjustments which may be made to the machineduring a setting-up operation prior to operation on a saw bladetherewith.

The machine of FIG. 11 indicated generally therein at 62 comprises ablade support indicated at 63 and adapted to engage the lower edgesurface of the blade 60 for maintaining the latter at a required heightin the machine 62. Height control means 64 and 65 are shown as beingassociated with the blade support 63 for the purpose of permittingadjustment of the vertical position of this support as indicated by thearrows G. Such adjustment will of course generally be desired to permitthe use of the machine 62 for sharpening and/or setting the teeth of sawblades of different widths (i.e., heights).

The machine 62 of FIG. 11 also includes a transverse clampingsub-assembly generally indicated at 66 and comprising a fixed plate 67disposed behind the saw blade 60 and a movable clamping plate 68disposed in front of the saw blade 60. The movable clamping plate 68 isshown as being associated with a clamp control means 69 adaptedrespectively and periodically to move the front clamping plate 68towards and away from the blade 60 for the purpose of clamping thatblade against the fixed plate 67, and to release the blade. Suchperiodic reciprocating movement during operation of the machine 62 isprovided by a drive transmission indicated schematically by the line 70from a main drive power source indicated schematically at 7]. Suchreciprocating movement of the front clamping plate 68 during operationof the machine 62 is indicated by the arrow .I while manual transverseadjustment of the front clamping plate 68 for the purpose ofaccommodating blades of different thicknesses is indicated by the arrowH.

A further clamping function is provided in the machine 62 by theedge-clamping mechanism indicated at 76 and shown as comprising teeth 79adapted to engage the teeth of the saw blade 60 to hold the blade 60downwardly against the blade support 63 during the sharpening and/orsetting operation. This hold-down clamp mechanism 76 is controlled by aclamp control means 77 which in turn derives drive power from the maindrive power source 71 through the line 78. During operation of themachine 62, the hold-down clamp mechanism 76 reciprocates periodicallyin the vertical direction as indicated by the arrow R. Verticaladjustment of this clamping mechanism 76 is also possible as indicatedby the arrow Q for the purpose of accommodating saw blades with teeth ofdifferent heights. Longitudinal adjustment of the position of thehold-down clamping mechanism 76 is also possible as indicated by thearrow P for the purpose of aligning the teeth of this clamping mechanism76 with the teeth of the saw blade 60. Replacement teeth for theclamping mechanism 76 can also advantageously be provided for use withsaw blades having teeth of different pitches.

The machine 62 also includes a sharpening wheel indicated at 72 androtated during operation of the machine as indicated by the arrow N. Thewheel 72 is controlled by wheel control means 73 for periodic verticalreciprocating movement as indicated by the arrow M between a loweredtooth-sharpening position and a raised inoperative position in which itis disposed out of engagement with the teeth 61 while the blade 60 isbeing advanced through the machine 62 in a manner yet to be described.Drive power is supplied to the wheel control means 73 from the maindrive power source 71 by a line 74.

The machine 62 usefully includes means for adjusting the position of thesharpening wheel 72. For example, adjustment of the vertical position ofthe wheel 72 is indicated by the arrow L while angular adjustment of theposition or slope of the wheel (in the plane of the paper) is indicatedby the arrows K. Adjustment of the position of the sharpening wheel 72along the blade 60 may also be desirable but such adjustment is notillustrated since all the other relevant sub-assemblies of the machine62 are so adjustable and it is permissible for any one sub-assembly tobe non-adjustable. The selection of a different sub-assembly as thefixed one is, however, clearly within the scope of the invention.

Advance movement of the blade 60 through the machine 62 is provided by ablade advance mechanism indicated at 80. This mechanism 80 comprises amember having teeth 83 adapted to engage the teeth 61 of the blade 60and, while in engagement therewith and while the blade 60 is released bythe front clamping plate 68 and by the blade hold-down clampingmechanism 76, to move the blade 60 through the machine 62, as indicatedby the arrow F a distance normally corresponding to the separationbetween an adjacent pair of the teeth 61 so as to align a further one ofthe teeth 61 with the sharpening wheel 72.

To this end, the blade advance mechanism 80 is driven by advance controlmeans indicated at 81 for reciprocating movement in two directions. Thefirst such movement is indicated by the arrow S and constitutes theperiodic blade advance movement and retraction of the mechanism 80 whiledisengaged from the blade 60. The second movement is a vertical periodicreciprocating movement as indicated by the arrow U which moves the teeth83 of the mechanism 80 between a lowered tooth-engaging position and araised tooth releasing position.

Adjustment of the position of the blade advance mechanism 80longitudinally with respect to the blade 60 is possible as indicated bythe arrow S while adjustment of the vertical position of the mechanism80 is possible as indicated by the arrow T. As is the case for thehold-down clamping mechanism 76, the mechanism 80 may be provided withreplacement teeth for use with saw blades having teeth of differentpitches. Drive power is transmitted from the main drive power source 71to the control means 81 through line 82.

If the machine 62 is also to be used for setting the teeth 61 of the sawblade 60, it will, as illustrated, be provided with a tooth-settingmechanism as indicated generally at 84. A particularly useful structurefor such a tooth-setting mechanism will be described hereinafter ingreater detail with reference to the machine shown in F 1G. 12 but itcan be noted at this juncture that the mechanism 84 shown in FIG. 11comprises a fixed slotted plate 85 and a movable slotted plate 86pivoted at 87 on the fixed slotted plate 85. The plates 85 and 86 aredimensioned so that one half of one of the teeth 61 of the blade 60 isengaged in the slot of the fixed plate 85 while the deeper half of thesame tooth is received within the slot of the movable plate 86. In thisway, pivoting movement of the movable plate 86 with respect to the fixedplate 85, as in dicated by the arrow Z causes the tooth in such slots tobe set as already described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 10.

The tooth-setting mechanism 84 is driven by a setter control meansindicated at 88 which in turn receives drive power from the main drivepower source 71 through a line 89. Adjustment of the position of thetooth-setting mechanism 84 along the blade as indicated by the arrow Wis possible as is adjustment of the angle of set as indicated by thearrow X.

Having described the principal sub-assemblies of the machine 62, itsmanner of operation will now be briefly summarized. The operation willbe considered as commencing at the instant that the sharpening of atooth 61 of the blade 60 by the sharpening wheel 72 will be retractedvertically upwardly by the wheel control means 73 as indicated by thearrow M.

At this same time, the hold-down clamping mechanism 76 will be raised byclamp control means 77 as indicated by arrow R and the movable clampingplate 68 will be moved transversely away from the fixed clamping plate67 by the clamp control means 69 to release the blade 60.

At this time, the blade advance mechanism 80 will have been lowered byits control means 81 into its lowered bladeengaging position asindicated by the arrow U. Additionally, the movable plate 86 of thetooth-setting mechanism 84 will have pivoted into a centraltooth-releasing position under the control of its control means 88 asindicated by arrow Z.

With the blade 60 now completely released by all the subassembliesexcept the blade advance mechanism 80, the blade advance control means81 operates to move this advance mechanism 80 to move the blade 60 inturn in the direction of the arrow F a distance corresponding to theseparation between two adjacent ones of the teeth 61.

When such advance movement of the blade 60 has been completed, thecontrol means 69 and 77 operate so as to cause the front clamping plate68 and the hold-down clamping mechanism 76 respectively to return intotheir blade-clamping positions. During such clamping operations, theblade advance mechanism 80 is elevated by its control means 81 into itsraised blade-releasing position and is itself retracted in the oppositedirection to the arrow F as indicated by the arrow S.

With the blade 60 again clamped by the front clamping plate 68 and bythe hold-down clamping mechanism 76, the sharpening wheel 72 is loweredby its control means 73 as indicated by the arrow M to sharpen the toothdisposed therebelow. If the teeth 61 of the blade 60 are also to be set,the setter control means 88 will also operate at this time to pivot themovable plate 86 of that mechanism forwardly or rearwardly in thetransverse direction, as appropriate and as indicated by the arrow 2.

Although the operation of the machine 62 has been described withreference to the simultaneous setting and sharpening of the teeth 61 ofthe saw blade 60, it will be understood that the machine 62 can, ifdesired, be used for sharpening alone, or for setting such teeth withoutsharpening them. In practice, such alternative operating procedures aredesirable since the teeth of band saw blades generally requiresharpening more frequently than they require to be reset.

Insofar as the preceding description with reference to FIG. 11 isconcerned, no indication has been made of the means for transmittingdrive motion to the several sub-assemblies or of the manner in which theoperations of such sub-assemblies are effectively synchronized. Althoughthe description hereinafter will proceed with reference to the use of amechanical system for this purpose, the use of electrical, hydraulic orother systems are not precluded.

It should also be understood that the invention is not restricted to theprecise sequence of steps hereinbefore outlined, it being understoodthat there are, however, certain operating sequences which must be met.For example, clamping of the blade 60 must be positively establishedbefore operation of the setting and sharpening mechanisms anddisengagement of such last-mentioned mechanisms and of both theblade-clamping means 68 and 76 must be complete before forward actuationof the blade advance mechanism 80 takes place.

2. General description of a specific machine The machine indicatedgenerally at in FIG. 12 for shar pening and/or setting the teeth 106 ofa saw blade 107 and particularly of a band saw blade comprises a mainsupporting frame generally indicated at 110, a main drive power sourceand transmission generally indicated at 183, a blade support andtransverse clamping sub-assembly generally indicated at 184, a bladeedge-clamping or hold-down sub-assembly generally indicated at 269, ablade advance mechanism generally indicated at 290, a blade advancetransmission generally indicated at 321, a sharpening wheel generallyindicated at 426, a sharpening wheel mounting and drive-sub'assemblygenerally indicated at 394, and a tooth-setting sub-assembly generallyindicated at 440.

3. Supporting frame The structure of the main supporting frame generallyindicated at 110 will be explained principally with reference to FIGS.13 and 14. Certain component parts of this frame 110 are, however, shownon the other figures of the drawings to illustrate the manners in whichthe other sub-assemblies are mounted on the frame 110.

It should be noted that references hereinafter to the "righthand" andleft-hand sides of the machine will apply when the machine is viewedfrom the front, i.e., as illustrated in FIG. 12.

The frame 110 includes a pair of generally parallel channel bars 111 and112 on which spaced apart upright members 113 and 114 respectively aresuitably secured and braced by a diagonal braces 115. Mounting holes 116are provided in the bars 111 and 112 for securing the machine 105 to aworkbench or on a vertical wall surface. For convenience, thedescription hereinafter will be directed to a machine designed to bedisposed on a horizontal surface but, when words such as vertical andhorizontal are used herein, it should be understood that they are notintended to restrict this invention to a machine intended for use insuch a horizontal disposition.

A rear longitudinally disposed channel bar 120 is mounted across theupper ends of the upright members 113 and 114 and channel bars 121 and122 are secured to the channel bar 120 and extend forwardly therefrom toprovide a support table generally indicated at 118. Spaced apart guidetracks generally indicated at 124 and 125 and formed from inverted anglebars 126, 127 and 128, 129 respectively are provided so as to projectrearwardly and forwardly from the rear channel bar 120. Mounting flanges131 and 132 extend forwardly from the rear channel bar 120. A bracketgenerally indicated at 133 is mounted on the inner surface of thechannel bar 122 at the front end thereof for a purpose yet to beexplained.

1. A tooth-setting machine for transversely setting the teeth of a sawblade having an elongated spine and a plurality of teeth extendingedgewise outwardly therefrom, each said tooth having a leading edge anda trailing edge and said trailing edge of each said tooth subtending asmaller angle than said leading edge thereof with said elongated spine,which machine comprises a clamping means adapted to be moved betweenblade-clamping and blade-releasing positions; a first tooth-engagingmember associated with said clamping means and adapted releasably toengage a first portion of a tooth of said saw blade, said first portionof said tooth being defined by said trailing edge thereof and by a lineof set extending outwardly from said leading edge of said tooth, asecond tooth-engaging member pivotally mounted about a pivot axis onsaid machine and adapted releasably to engage and transversely to deforma second portion of said tooth, said second portion of said tooth beingdefined by said line of set and by said leading edge thereof and saidpivot axis being disposed so as to be substantially coplanar with saidelongated spine of said blade, and disposed edgewise outwardly of saidblade, and control and drive means adapted to pivot said secondtooth-engaging member transversely about said pivot axis to deform saidsecond portion of said tooth with respect to said first portion thereofand with respect to said elongated spine of said blade.
 2. A machine asclaimed in claim 1 in which said first and second tooth-engaging membersare angularly adjustably mounted on said machine whereby the angularposition of said line of set with respect to said elongated spine ofsaid blade can be adjusted.
 3. A machine as claimed in claim 2 in whichsaid first and second tooth-engaging members are adjustably mounted onsaid machine whereby the longitudinal position of said line of set onsaid tooth can be adjusted.
 4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 in whichsaid first and second tooth-engaging members together comprise a pair ofslotted plates having slots adapted to receive a tooth of said sawblade, said slots being aligned for passage of said teeth of said sawblade therethrough and being pivotally offset with respect to each otherduring transverse setting of said second portion of said tooth beingset.
 5. A machine for performing a servicing operation on the teeth of asaw blade having a first edge and a second edge defining an elongatedspine with a plurality of teeth extending edgewise outwardly from saidfirst edge of said blade, each said tooth having a leading edge and atrailing edge and said trailing edge of said tooth subtending a smallerangle than said leading edge thereof with said first edge of said blade,which machine comprises a clamping means adapted periodically to bemoved between a blade-clamping first position and a blade-releasingsecond position, a blade-advance means comprising a detachable toothedplate for mating engagement with a plurality of said teeth of said sawblade and adapted periodically to be moved between a tooth-engagingfirst position and a blade-releasing second position and additionallyadapted periodically to reciprocate longitudinally in mating engagementwith a plurality of said teeth of said blade in a forward direction andfor return movement out of engagement with said blade in an oppositelongitudinal direction, at least one blade-servicing meAns adaptedperiodically to reciprocate between a blade-engaging first position forperforming a servicing operation on at least one tooth of said blade anda retracted blade-releasing second position, at least one of saidblade-advance means and said blade-servicing means being longitudinallyadjustably mounted on said machine to accommodate saw blades ofdifferent pitch values, and control and drive means adapted to drivesaid clamping means, said blade-advance means and said blade-servicingmeans in operational synchronization whereby said toothed plate of saidblade-advance means undergoes conjoint forward movement with said bladewhile said clamping means and said blade-servicing means are disposed intheir blade-releasing second positions and in which said blade isengaged in a clamped position by said blade-clamping means during saidblade-servicing operation.
 6. A machine as claimed in claim 5 whichmachine includes a blade support adjustably mounted on said machine tosupport said saw blades of various widths along said second edge of sucha blade for longitudinal advance movement of said blade therealong, andin which said clamping means comprises a first clamping means forperiodically transversely clamping said blade and second clamping meansincluding a detachable toothed plate for periodic mating engagement witha plurality of said teeth of said blade to hold said blade with saidsecond edge thereof against said blade support, said first clampingmeans being adapted for periodic transverse reciprocation betweenblade-clamping and blade-releasing positions, said toothed plate of saidsecond clamping means being adapted for simultaneous periodicreciprocation towards and away from said first edge of said bladebetween a teeth-engaging position and a blade-releasing position, and atleast two of said blade-advance means, said blade-servicing means andsaid second clamping means being longitudinally adjustably mounted onsaid machine to accommodate saw blades of different pitch values.
 7. Amachine as claimed in claim 6 in which said blade-servicing meanscomprises a sharpening wheel mounted for rotation about a wheel axis forperipheral sharpening edge engagement with a tooth of said blade, and inwhich said wheel axis is mounted on said machine for periodicreciprocation between a sharpening position with said sharpening wheelin peripheral edge engagement with said tooth and a non-operativeblade-releasing position for longitudinal forward advance of said bladethrough said machine by said blade-advance means.
 8. A machine asclaimed in claim 7 in which said wheel axis is angularly adjustablymounted on said machine for varying the sharpening angle of saidsharpening wheel with respect to said first edge of said blade.
 9. Amachine as claimed in claim 6 in which said blade-servicing meanscomprises a tooth-setting means adapted transversely to set a tooth ofsaid saw blade about a line of set extending edgewise outwardly from theleading edge of that tooth.
 10. A machine as claimed in claim 9 in whichsaid tooth-setting means is angularly adjustably mounted on said machinewhereby the angle subtended by said line of set and said first edge ofsaid blade can be adjusted and in which said tooth-setting means is alsoadjustable to vary the longitudinal position of said line of set on saidtooth.
 11. A machine as claimed in claim 6 which comprises a first bladeservicing means in turn comprising a sharpening wheel mounted forrotation about a wheel axis for peripheral sharpening edge engagementwith a tooth of said blade, in which said wheel axis is mounted on saidmachine for periodic reciprocation between a sharpening position withsaid sharpening wheel in peripheral edge engagement with said tooth anda non-operative blade-releasing position for longitudinal forwardadvance of said blade through said machine by said blade-advance means,and a separate second blade-servicing means comprising a tooth-settingmeans angularly adjustably mounted on sAid machine and adaptedtransversely to set a tooth of said saw blade about an adjustable lineof set extending edgewise outwardly from the leading edge of a tooth ofsaid blade, which tooth-setting means is also longitudinally adjustableto vary the longitudinal position of said line of set on said tooth andto accommodate saw blades of different pitch values.
 12. A machine asclaimed in claim 11 in which said control and drive means and saidtooth-setting means are adapted transversely to set said teeth of saidsaw blade to alternate transverse sides of said blade sequentiallytherealong.
 13. A machine as claimed in claim 12 in which said controland drive means and said tooth-setting means are adapted transversely toset alternate teeth sequentially along said blade.
 14. A machine asclaimed in claim 12 in which said control and drive means comprises apivotally mounted rocker bar having associated therewith a cam followeradapted to be maintained in engagement with a cam member carried by adrive shaft, in which pivotal rocking movement of said rocker bar onrotation of said drive shaft is adapted to effect said periodicreciprocation of said wheel axis of said sharpening wheel, said periodicmovement of said blade advance means between said first and secondpositions thereof as well as said periodic longitudinal reciprocationthereof, said periodic transverse clamping of said first clamping means,and said periodic reciprocation of said second clamping means, and inwhich said tooth-setting mechanism is driven from said drive shaftthrough an adjustable ratio gear train.
 15. A machine as claimed inclaim 14 which comprises a bell crank member adapted to be pivotallyreciprocated by said rocker bar and to provide said longitudinalreciprocation of said blade advance means, in which said tooth-settingmeans comprises a pair of slotted plates having slots adapted to receivea tooth of said saw blade, said slots being aligned for the passage ofsaid teeth therethrough and being adapted to be pivotally offset withrespect to each other for transverse setting of a tooth of said sawblade.
 16. A machine as claimed in claim 15 in which said tooth-settingmeans is mounted on said machine adjustably for adjustment of itslongitudinal position along said blade and for movement inwardly andoutwardly towards said first edge of said saw blade, in which a secondof said slotted plates is pivotally mounted on a first plate thereof forpivotal movement about a pivot axis positioned so as to be substantiallycoplanar with said saw blade outwardly of said teeth thereof, in whichsaid second plate of said tooth-setting means comprises a pair of armsembracing a winging arm pivotally mounted about an axis perpendicular tosaid pivot axis and adapted to be engaged by a cam member of said geartrain whereby said arm serves to pivot said second slotted plate withrespect to said first slotted plate on rotation of said cam member ofsaid gear train.
 17. A machine as claimed in claim 4 in which saidcontrol and drive means includes a drive shaft and in which said secondtooth-engaging member is driven for transverse pivotal movement thereoffrom said drive shaft through an adjustable ratio gear train.
 18. Amachine as claimed in claim 17 in which said second tooth-engagingmember comprises a pair of arms embracing an arm pivotally mounted aboutan axis generally perpendicular to said pivot axis and adapted to beengaged by a cam member of said adjustable ratio gear train whereby saidarm serves to pivot said second tooth-engaging member about said pivotaxis with respect to said first tooth-engaging member on rotation ofsaid cam member of said gear train.
 19. A machine for performing aservicing operation on the teeth of a saw blade having a first edge anda second edge defining an elongated spine with a plurality of teethextending edgewise outwardly from said first edge of said blade, eachsaid tooth having a leading edge and a trailing edge and said trailingedge of Each said tooth subtending a smaller angle than said leadingedge thereof with said first edge of said blade, which machine comprisesa longitudinal clamping means adapted periodically to be pivotedtransversely between a blade-clamping first position and ablade-releasing second position, a blade-advance means adaptedperiodically to be moved between a tooth-engaging first position and ablade-releasing second position and additionally adapted periodically toreciprocate longitudinally in engagement with said blade in a forwarddirection and for return movement out of engagement with said blade inan opposite longitudinal direction, at least one blade-servicing meansadapted periodically to reciprocate between a blade-engaging firstposition for performing a servicing operation on at least one tooth ofsaid blade and a retracted blade-releasing second position, and controland drive means including a rocker bar pivotally mounted on a transversepivot shaft and provided with a cam follower adapted to be maintained inengagement with a cam member carried by a drive shaft to cause pivotalrocking movement of said rocker bar on rotation of said drive shaft inturn to drive said longitudinal clamping means, said blade-advance meansand said blade-servicing means in operational synchronization wherebysaid blade-advance means undergoes conjoint forward movement with saidblade while said longitudinal clamping means and said blade-servicingmeans are disposed in their blade-releasing second positions and inwhich said blade is engaged in a clamped position by said longitudinalblade-clamping means during said blade-servicing operation.
 20. Amachine as claimed in claim 19 which comprises a bell crank memberpivotally mounted about a transverse axis and adapted to be pivotallyreciprocated about that transverse axis by said pivotal rocking movementof said rocker bar, said bell crank member being coupled to saidblade-advance means to cause said advance forward movement of saidblade-advance means in engagement with said saw blade during each saidpivotal rocking movement of said rocker bar.
 21. A machine as claimed inclaim 19 in which said control and drive means includes a linkagecoupled to said longitudinal clamping means and operatively associatedwith said rocker bar whereby said clamping means is pivoted between saidfirst and second positions thereof during each said pivotal rockingmovement of said rocker bar.
 22. A machine as claimed in claim 21 inwhich said linkage is adjustable whereby said longitudinal clampingmeans can accommodate saw blades of different thicknesses.
 23. A machineas claimed in claim 19 and which additionally comprises a blade supportadapted to support said saw blade along said second edge thereof and asecond blade-clamping means for periodically engaging said blade to holdthat blade with said second edge thereof against said blade support,said second clamping means being pivotally mounted about alongitudinally extending shaft and engaging said rocker bar so that saidsecond clamping means pivots toward and away from said first edge ofsaid blade between a blade-engaging first position and a blade-releasingsecond position simultaneously with pivoting movement of saidlongitudinal clamping means between said blade-clamping first positionand said blade-releasing second position respectively thereof duringeach said pivotal rocking movement of said rocker bar.
 24. A machine asclaimed in claim 19 in which said blade-servicing means comprises asharpening wheel mounted for rotation about a wheel axis for peripheralsharpening edge engagement with a tooth of said blade, in which saidwheel axis is mounted on a transverse arm in turn pivotally mounted onsaid machine, and whereby, during said pivotal rocking movement of saidrocker bar, said sharpening wheel is caused to undergo reciprocationbetween a sharpening position with said sharpening wheel in peripheraledge engagement with said tooth and a non-operative blade-releasingposition fOr longitudinal forward advance movement of said blade throughsaid machine by said blade-advance means.